Lawmaker notes missing birth records in fund inquiry

Rep. Joel Chua, chairman of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, told Monday’s public hearing that over 400 recipients of confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education under VP Sara Duterte lack birth records with the Philippine Statistics Authority, the repository of population data. This represents more than half of the 667 names submitted for verification, with over 200 having namesakes. Chua said the PSA report suggests illegal disbursement of P612 million in OVP and DepEd funds, an amount in excess of the P50 million threshold for a plunder case.